She led a full life. Her days were filled with giving to others. Her children, neighbors, friends. Satisfying days. Neither did she neglect herself. Every so often she would recharge with a trip to the spa. A manicure. A facial. A great way to provide energy for herself as a giver. So relaxing. And it felt so good to be looking her best.
It’s all over now. No more giving. No more nurturing. And no more pampering beauty treatments. No more anything. Just tasteless days at the nursing home. One day following the next. Each exactly the same.
She was fortunate, our lonely holocaust survivor. Unlike many, she had a daughter who cared and so much wished to bring a bright spot into her mother’s life. So much was gone but the spa treatments – could she make that happen at this stage of life? When the daughter heard about Ezer Mizion’s new program entitled One Wish, it seemed like a godsend. The program’s goal: Fulfilling a desire for over 500 holocaust survivors residing in senior homes to empower them, to revitalize their interest in life, to enable them to, once again, make decisions for themselves. Going to a spa was out of the question. Her mother was not capable of leaving the home. But could the spa experience come to her? “Perhaps,” the Ezer Mizion staff member assured her. “We’ll try our best.”
The biggest hurdle was finding a cosmetician whose sensitive nature would be capable of creating the vitalizing happening her daughter envisioned. The goal was so much more than the finished product. It encompassed every moment of this momentous occasion from start to finish. Much research was done and the perfect person was found. And so mother and daughter had their ‘outing’ reminiscent of years gone by. The dream arrived at her doorstep and included nail polishing, a luxurious facial treatment and a hand massage. Mom basked in the pampering, delighting in choosing the perfect shade of polish while her daughter glowed with joy, ever so gratified in the success of the day.
Seniors are just one of the segments of Israel’s population that is supported by Ezer Mizion. The Golden Age Division provides: homecare attendants, activity centers for Alzheimer patients in the early stages of the disease, support groups for family members and caregivers of dementia patients, social clubs for health maintenance, fitness and enrichment for the general elderly populations, holocaust survivor services, home repair services, services for homebound individuals, free ambulance transport, volunteer driver transport, hospital volunteers, medical equipment loan and many other services.
Today’s Holocaust survivors suffered indescribable trauma in their early childhood and youth. With this knowledge we aim to sweeten their golden years and enable them to fulfill a wish. The goal is to bring happiness, hope and peace to people who suffered so much in the past and whom today are confined to facilities, a little sliver of gold to brighten the golden years.
Ezer Mizion provides services to over 660,000 of Israel’s population annually in addition to its Bone Marrow Registry which saves the lives of Jewish cancer patients the world over.
